


Last One Standing

by BluesCluesFoundMe



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Biopsychology, Family Death, Investigations, Kinda not really slow build, Lots of blood and gore so warning, M/M, Murder, Mystery, Romance, Violence, anger issues, bau
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-25
Updated: 2017-08-25
Packaged: 2018-12-19 19:58:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11905116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BluesCluesFoundMe/pseuds/BluesCluesFoundMe
Summary: Elijah Rhodes only care in the world was receiving his degree and remembering when to buy another pack of cigarettes. After he escaped his suffocating life back in Washington he predicted to live out the rest of his lifetime in his lonesome; not making any formal human connections. He'd be the grumpy wrinkled raisin that yelled at the rambunctious kids to get off his lawn. He even included getting a wife beater, plaid boxers, and barf green plastic lawn chair on his bucket list so he'd be prepared. But after his sister suddenly got in contact with him after 11 years of being apart he started doubting if that theory would ever turn into a reality. When he finally gets to meet her face to face he's confronted with her dead body and not the joyous face of his twin sister. Apparently there's a serial killer out there killing off every member of the families who founded Rhodes Inc., horribly disfiguring everyone he deems unworthy. Now he's got to help the BAU catch the bastard and most importantly stay out of sight. Because's he's the last one standing, the last one breathing.





	Last One Standing

**Author's Note:**

> Please feel free to comment any constructive criticism or thoughts on the progress. I really need to work on approving my style and wording :). Disclaimer I do not own Criminal Minds or any characters used from the show. Full credit goes to the creator. Hope you enjoy!  
> \- Morgan

Never in my life did I think I’d ever talk to my sister again, not after what they did. I was stomped on like a soon to be forgotten cigarette butt and thrown away to fend for myself. I had to spend 3 years starring in the face of everything horribly wrong with me and my therapist repeating the same phrase: that it was only my choice to change and get back to “normal”. Normal is playing with Meredith on the tire swing out back with Mom and Dad laughing in the background, making fun at how I always face plant into the dirt whenever I even attempted to get inside the wheel. Normal is kissing my mom on the cheek before heading off to school and have her yell out how much she loves me the whole time I walk to the bus stop. I can’t go back normal anymore because it doesn't exist in this lifetime. My normal ended when I watched my dad go back into the burning house, telling me he’d be back in just a minute, he just needed to go get mommy. I sobbed and hugged Meredith to me tightly, waiting at the same spot for him to heroically strut back out with Mom in his arms. But he never came out, even when the sirens got louder and the neighbors walked out onto their lawns and started gawking in disbelief at the engulfed building. I never moved an inch, even when the men tried to push me back and cover my eyes. I fought as hard as I could, intently staring at the front door, not contemplating the fact that he might not ever come out. It turns out he’d never step another foot outside that doomed home ever again. That’s the night when Aunt Jane, my mother’s widowed sister, came to the hospital and had to kneel down and tell us that Mommy and Daddy flew away to go on a great adventure and that they loved us very much. Even from the young age of 11 I knew that it was complete and utter bullshit. That’s when the first spark ignited in my tiny, boy soul and all I could think was how dare they leave us, leave us all alone in the big, scary world. He said they’d come back, he’s was a liar. Everyone but Meredith left me on that cold, dark sidewalk waiting for my parents to return so they once again could play and laugh and smile and do all the things they always do. Aunt Jane was kind and tried the first couple years to recreate the loving fun atmosphere but as time went on bills were becoming harder to pay and before I knew it she was working two jobs and was only home long enough to leave some money and say goodbye. I can’t entirely blame her, she had two troubled children thrown onto her with no financial help. Well one troubled child to be correct. Meredith turned towards religion and kept telling herself everyday that this was god's plan and they’re off with the Father having a wholesome and holy afterlife. I went down another path, a darker path that pushed me down the black hole of violence and insecurity. Meredith and I started to drift apart, no longer the inseparable twins we once were. Arguing was a constant racket in the house as they pleaded me to get my act together and stop the slow suicide called smoking. I was the kid everyone told their sons and daughters to stay away from, they didn’t want me to influence them and most importantly didn’t want me to pummel the shit out of their precious child. I was well known for being enigmatic about using my fists and it wasn’t hard to trigger my rage. There was so much pent up I was able to dish out fury like it was just the simple task of writing your name at the top of an assignment. By the time I was 15 I was deemed a hazard and suspended from my high school for the “safety of fellow students and faculty members”. The lost cause sticker was slapped onto my forehead and I was forcefully pulled onto a plane the next day with a packed bag and shipped off to the Washington Academy for Troubled Teens. I remember sitting up straight and tense, glaring in front of me with my carry clutched tightly the whole 1 ½ hour flight. When I finally arrived all I could fathom was that the prison I created in my head finally became a physical being, ready to keep trapped and compliant. Every month when visitation came around I locked myself in my dorm room and refused to come out for the rest of the night, making sure I didn’t have a sliver of a chance of seeing the people who betrayed me. This only lasted a year till they finally didn’t bother to show up. Once I graduated I took the little money I had been saving up and a small scholarship grant and flew to the Maine, leaving my so called family in the dust. I worked 3 jobs and attended a small but good university that specializes in health sciences. I ended up majoring in biopsychology and planned on getting my masters when I had enough money to pay for another round of education. I was naturally smart and even when I was going off into the dark pit of despair I kept up with my education, meticulously going over every word of my homework and textbooks. Of course I did this in private, wanting to escape others and I knew that being studious would be the most economical way to get the hell out of dodge. It was a month after I got my undergraduate degree my sister contacted me, saying the the private investigator she hired found the small news article I was mentioned in about my valedictorian speech. At first all I could do was curse her out and ignored her, the buried rage being called back up to the surface. But as her persistent texts and calls slowly became habit, I started yearning for my Meredith, my best friend. The initial trigger to go back to Washington was when she told me she pregnant and married to a charming man named Charles Ward. I could hear her shy smile through the phone and it took me 5 minutes to finally utter a single word. My baby twin sister was all grown up. It made me realize how much I missed of her life, just one big gaping hole in my childhood that never would be filled. From that moment on we stayed connected everyday, constantly talking. My angst simmered and slowly dissipated as I once again began to feel the high of familiar love. She turned into my rock, the one I could go to and tell about the asshole customer at the coffee shop or how another bird flew into my house causing me to break almost every fragile object in my head. That summer she sent me a surprise ticket in the mail and by the end of the week I was standing on her doorstep. That’s where the backstory ends and reality sets in. I tapped my finger against my thigh and re-adjusted my grip on my backpack. I nervously glanced around the exterior of her house, taking in the red brick and majestic white pillars. The house would be better defined as a mansion that stuck out like a sore thumb in this upper middle class neighborhood. It was almost ancient but modern looking at the same time, looming over anyone and everything in its presence. I could tell that she wasn’t locked out of my very financially comfortable parents inheritance like I was. I shook my head to knock the thoughts out of my head and remembered that this wasn’t the time for pansy shit and pressed the doorbell hard and firm. I gave out a puff of confidence and reassurance and waited about 30 seconds for the doorknob to rattle. With no evidence of anyone coming to the door I pressed it one more time. By the third time I pressed the button, my patience was growing very thin.  
Rapping on the door I let out a boisterous yell. “Meredith open up! It might be summer but it’s still cold dammit”. Letting a good minute pass, I silently waited for a smiling Meredith to pop out and laugh about how she got me this time, that this was only a joke. As irritation crept up my spine and turned into a dull throb in my head, I stepped off the porch and walked in front of the big window to my right framing the house to see if I could see anyone. I pressed my nose against the pane and covered my eyes to block the glare. As my eye focused I could see how the furniture looked like antiques and the light pastel palette looked classy and unique. There was a light beige fur rug on the ground on top of nice deep hard wood floors. My gaze roamed the area, searching, but everything looked so calm and still, nothing touched or agitated. Only the movement of the clock hand stood out to any degree. My eyes swept the bottom half of the room and that’s when my eyes landed on the pale, delicate hand gently relaxed on the floor behind the smooth leather couch. It took me a second to register and focus on what I was looking at. Panic was then the only thing consuming my thoughts as I ran back to the thick wood door and pounded it on hard as I could. “Meredith! Open the door! Fuck! Meredith if you don’t come here in the next second I’m gonna bust down this door and I’m not paying for a replacement!”, I screamed at the top of my lungs in desperation. With a big huff I started kicking it as hard as I could, trying physically and mentally force it out of my way so I could get inside. I didn’t care about the commotion I was most likely causing, the only thought in my mind was that Mere was in trouble and I had to help her, I had to. My attempts were futile and the large door didn’t have a single dent so I sprinted back to the window as fast as I could. All I could think of was Mom and Dad and how this couldn’t be happening, it was just impossible. I searched for some latch to get in but when my investigation came up empty, I scrambled around and found the largest rock possible off the ground and smashed it against the expensive glass. The shards fluttered everywhere and I kept going till the hole was big enough to climb through.The glass sliced through my hands and cut up my clothing as I scattered through it. Sirens were blaring as the home security alarm went off, alerting the police and everyone within 200 meters. Blood puddled and smeared onto the ground as I hastily tried to get back on my feet. I took 5 large steps as fast as I could and looked for the body connected to the feminine hand. There laid a woman on her stomach in a soft yellow dress and billowing black curls covering the head, outlining her frame. A large vivid red spot stood out amongst the cool tones of the room. She looked so peaceful and still. I got onto my knees and quickly gave her a shake. “Mere wake up, it’s me”. Shake. “Come on it’s Elijah, you have to get up”. Shake. “Mere, please”. Tears started to collect and leak from my eyes. Carefully gripping her shoulder, I placed her on her back, making sure not to contort her body in a weird way. Nothing could prepare me for what I saw. Her beautiful deep brown eyes were now just empty black pits staring off into nothing and a large gash sliced across her neck. All I could was stare. Quivering, I gently took her in my arms and cradled her against my body. Tucking her hair behind her ear all I could get out was a quiet, “I’m sorry”. I tightened my grip and closed my eyes, not thinking of anything and blocking out the loud sounds radiating through the now lifeless home. It felt like I sat there for hours sitting in oblivion. What knocked me out of my trance was when one single word boomed through the empty space.   
“FBI!”. Lights and noise suddenly overwhelmed my senses and nothing made sense. People rushed by and circled me quickly and silently. “ Hands up and get away from her!”, yelled the lead man who looked at me intently with only hostility. I answered with a harsh scowl and brought her even closer, making sure she’d never leave my side every again. I turned my attention back to Meredith and studied her smooth porcelain skin and now pale blue lips. Blood was caked underneath her eyes and the front of her yellow dress was now stained a ugly red. Soon the hostility in their eyes turned into pity and the pity turned into the lowering of the arsenal that was previously ready to shoot a round or two through my skull. To be honest at the moment I’m not sure I would've minded that much. With cautious steps the mocha colored man raised he hand and slowly crouched. “I’m not going to hurt you, I’m just here to help”, he muttered softly trying to ease the tension hanging in the air. I shut my eyes tightly once again, willing the situation away. It’s just one of my sick nightmares that haunted my head and in reality Meredith is happily waiting for me and there was no strange men and women circling me. Everything was okay. Before I knew It strong hands grasp my shoulders and roughly pulled me backwards yanking me from my dear sister. My eyes flew open and a ear shattering shriek left my lips. “No. No. No. Stop it. Let go of me! Giver her back!”. A full out sob racked through me and I struggled profusely, thrashing and kicking. The strong corded muscles kept me still with equal force. I swung my head back and a sickening crack resonated throughout the room. The grip faltered a bit and I hastily crawled away but before I could get my bearings, a sharp pain pierced the side of my neck and then all I could see was black.


End file.
